There is a real oddity that is so bad that you just have to listen. “Surfin’ Down The Swanee River” must have made Stephen Foster turn over in his grave. I could have written the lyrics to this old melody.
The real rarities were two songs by the Honeys from 1969. “Goodnight My Love” was a fairly straightforward presentation of this old standard. “Tonight You Belong To Me” was a departure from the Honeys' surf songs of the early 1960s. It reminded me of the old girl group, the Caravelles, who had a big hit with the song “You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry.” High, almost falsetto, harmonies set against simple lyrics and melody makes this cut a stand-out.
Brian Wilson cut two singles for Sharon Marie. She remains a mystery woman. Mike Love says she was a friend. Other people in the know say she was Ginger Blake recording under a different name so as not to conflict with her work for the Honeys. “Runaround Lover” contains some excellent and textured backing vocals and another creative use of a saxophone sound as the foundational instrument of the song. “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You Baby” uses the melody from the Beach Boys' future hit “Darlin.’ This song can be classified as a torch song and was a rarity for Brain Wilson in 1964.
Gary Usher checks in with two songs. “Sacramento” and “That’s Just The Way I Feel” are both disappointments. They feature standard vocals and little in the way of harmonies. Gary Usher was an early writing partner of Brian Wilson who would go on to produce such brilliant studio groups as the Hondells, Super Stocks, and the Knights.
The real gems were the releases of “Pamela Jean” and “After The Game” by the Survivors. The Survivors were actually the Beach Boys recording under another name. The intent was to see if they could create a hit record if no one knew them. The single tanked, which was a shame. “Pamela Jean” used the melody to “Car Crazy Cutie” and received the full Beach Boys treatment. I find the harmonies and production clearer and more sophisticated than most of their releases in January of 1964. “After The Game” was a Brian Wilson instrumental that used some odd percussion effects and looked forward to his creations later in the decade.
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